Heel machine



Aug. 22, 1933. F Asl-NORTH 1,923,068

HEEL MACHINE Filed'Feb. 5, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l Figl.

Aug. 22, 1933. F ASHWORTH 1,923,068

HEEL MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig'. 3.

F. ASHWORTH HEEL MACHINE Aug. 22, 1933.

Filed Feb. 5 931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig'. 3Q

Patented Aug. 22, 1931i UNITED STATES regains f Y HEEL MAonrNE Fred Ashworth, Wenliam, Mass., assigner' to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a Corporation of New Jersey Application February 5, 1931. Serial No. 513,591

l Claims.

This'invention relates to 'heel machines, and is herein shown as embodied in a machine' for use in applying a rand to a lift, to form a base V'or a rubber heel, and trimming off the ends of the rand which project beyond the breast edge oi the lift.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved machine which will perform one or both of the stated operations speedily, accurately and economically, and will turn out a uniformly excellent product.

In the building of heel bases it is customary to fit upon the marginal portion oi one face of a heel lift an adhesively coated. rand, to secure the rand and lift together by pressure or otherwise, and then to' trim off, as nearly flush with the breast face of the lift as possible, the projecting ends of therand which is always somewhat too long since it is impracticable to use rands of exactly the right length because oi unavoidable variations occurring when the rands are bent or turned into the necessary curved shape. Heretofore the trimming of the ends of the rand has usualy been performed either as a separate operation or by a `knife and cutting block embodied in the heel building machine in which the heel base was manufactured. More or less difficulty has been. experienced in securing an accurate, clean cut, by reason of the knife and cutting block arrangement and insuiiicient provision for supporting and holding the blank While the ends ofthe rand were being trimmed. `In one type machine which has been used for this work the trimming knife isstationary and the blank, ofteninsecurely held, is'moved past the knife to effect the trimming operation with'resultsthat are knot always accurate and uniform.

The present invention provides an improved heel machine organization in which a heel sup- '-40 port and a presser movable into engagement with a heel upon said support are combined with a trimming blade movable past therbreast of a heel upon the support and means under the control of the presser for moving the trimming blade. Y .By virtue of this improved organization it becomespossible,- although the trimming is per-.-V

formed entirely automatically as va part of eajch cycle of operation of the machine, to insure'that "o and during the trimming operation. .Y

In order to'obtain a superior product in which the breast .ends of the `rand are uniformly trimmed smoothly and accurately al shear couple is preferably employed and, in accordance with another feature of the invention, one .shear .with the other the blank be rmly held underpressure priorto member is made movable with the presser and a shear blade is arranged to move past the breast end of the heel support into co-operative relation with said shear member to effect the trimming of the rand. 6.0

VIn the illustrated embodiment of the invention accurate positioningof the blank is insured by the provision or" a heel form in which the rand and liJ may be placed andwhicl. insures that their relation to the shear couple will always Ybe uniform. Preferably, and i s shown, the heel form is open at the breast to permit the breast ends of the rand to project therefrom While the blank is held rigidly stationary in the form and the shear couple operates to cut off the breast ends of the rand,

In order to secure accurate and clean cutting,V means may, .in accordance with the invention, beprovided for positioning one of the shear elements accurately and definitely to co-operate shear element in the operative movement of the. latter.

In order to obviate the difficulty which is sometimes experienced in removing heel blanks from machines in which they have been subjected to pressurethe invention also includes an improved ejector mechanism for quickly removing the completed blank fromqthe heel form.,V In the present instance the Vejector is operated by fa spring which is energized by relative movement of Vthe presser and heel form away from pressure exerting position and is automatically released at the proper time to permit it to operate upon the completed blank when the pressure is removed therefrom. 9.0

These and other features andadvantages of the invention will best be understood andl appreciated from reading the following detailed description of one satisfactory embodiment thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings, nwhich .7, l Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine embodying the invention Fig. 2 is a front elevation of'thermachine; l Fig. 3 is a plan view, partlypin section; and Fig. 4 is a vertical, central section from front torear of the parts of the machine which operate uponv the blank. Y p Ihe' operating. mechanism of the machine is .iounted in afranie 10 and is similar'V in its general organization to that of: the heel building machine disclosed-in United States Letters Patent No. 1,055,720, granted March 18, 1913, iipon application' of Eliphalet A; Tripp. y

Upon a stationary table l2' are niounted'a heel 110 CII support 14 and a heel shaped form l'which is open at the breast, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. When using the machine in the manufacture of heel bases a lift 18 is placed in the form 16 and an adhesively coated rand 20 is fitted into the form on top of the lift.

In order to apply the necessary pressure to the rand and the lift to cause them to be secured together and to hold the blank while the projecting ends of the rand are trimmed off there is pro-V vided a presser 22 which is carried by a beam 24 similar to the beam l22 shown in the Tripp patent. As described in detail in the said patent the beam is capable of being swung about a pivot 26 in the forward end of a cam lever 28 which is operated at suitable times by a cam upon the main driving shaft 30 of the machine. The driving shaft 30 is rotated by power derived from a pulley 32 through a one revolution clutch controlled by a bar 34 (see Fig. l) pivotally connected at 36 to the beam 24, the construction and arrangement being such y that when the presser carrying beam 24 is drawn forward to a position in which the presser 22 is over the heel form 16 the clutch is tripped and the cam lever y28 is actuated to depress the beam and the presser-to apply pressure to the Work in the form. As soon as the operation upon the blank is finished the presser is elevated by a spring 38 and the beam is drawn back by a spring 40, leaving the space over the heel form unobstructed. The presser 22 is carried by a presser head 24, to the front face of which is secured a shear member 42 having a lower work engaging edge which is inclined upward from the center toward both ends as shown at 44 in Fig. 2.l The shear member 42 is secured to the presser head 24 by bolts 46 passingthrough slots 48 in the shear member, to permit vertical adjustment of the latter so that the lower edge 44 will engage rmly the upper face of the rand and lift when the presser 22 is lowered to pressure applying position. A screw 50 bearing against the upper edge of the shear member 42 serves to maintain the adjustment positively.

Movable past the open breast end of the heel form 16 into co-operative relation with the shear member 42 is a vertically guided shear blade 52 which is secured by screws 54, passing through slots 56 in the shear blade, to a plunger 58 operated by a toggle 60 corresponding to the toggle V186 of the machine shown in the Tripp patent.

In the operation of the machine this toggle is actuated to raise and lower the plunger 58 after the presser 22 and shear member 42 have been lowered into engagement with the blank in the heel form and while the said blank isrigidly held stationary in the form.

' The upper edge ofthe shear blade 52 lies in a single horizontal plane and, by reason of the inclination of the lower edge of the co-operating shear member 42 in both directionsfrom its center, the member 42 and the blade 52 constitutea shear couple operating as two oppositely directed pairs of shears to trim the two projecting ends vof the rand accurately and cleanly, flush with the breast faceof the lift to which the rend is secured. The upward inclination of the lower edge 44 of the shear member 42 from its center toward each side causes a progressive cutting action from Vthe center outward, which has a peculiar advantage in that there is a decided tendency to force the end portions of the rand outward as the cutting progresses, thereby avoiding any danger that they will be misplaced inwardly relatively to the edges of the lift.

The shear blade 52 is accurately guided vertically by straight guides 62 and, in order to insure perfect co-operation with the upper shear member 42, means provided for positioning the latter very accurately in relation to the lower shear blade. As shown, heavy guide posts 64 are mounted rigidly in the machine frame in fixed relation to the heel support and guides 62. Heavy brackets 66 are secured to the beam 24 and have through them holes 68 which t slidably upon the guide posts 64. The upperends of the guide posts are tapered, as shown at 70, in order to guide the brackets 66 easily into interengagement with the posts and accurate positioning of the beam 24, and shear member 42 carried thereby, is assured when the beam is lowered to apply pressure to the work.

In order quickly and certainly to remove completed blanks from the machine after the trimming blade 52 has been lowered and the pressure upon the blank has been released, improved ejecting mechanism is provided. A horizontal ejector rod 'Z2 is guided for sliding movement through an aperture 74 in the rear of the heel form 16. An expansion spring 76, surrounding the rod 72, at one end against the machine frame and at the other end against a collar '78 secured to the rod.l The 4force of this spring tends at all times to project the rod 'l2 toward the front of the heel form, and a buffer secured to the rear end of the rod limits the forward movement of the rod.

The spring "i5 is ene t. sed by the movement of the presser carrying beam 24 away from pressure exerting nos .on through the medium of 82 pivoted in. the beam 24 at 84. The lov r end of the l tch is bifurcated, embracing the rod '.72 and ing a pin 85 upon the said rod when the b. .24 is allowed to fall backward under the influence of the spring 40. A screw 86 threaded through the upper end of the latch 82 and bearing against the beam, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. provides yfor adjustment of the position. to which the lower end of the latch shall move and consequently of the amount by which the spring '76 shall be compressed. This adjustment is so regulated that the rod 72 will be retracted until a spring'catch 88 can snap up in front of a shoulder 90 upon the rod and hold the rod retracted with the spring '76 under tension.

When the beam 2 4 is drawn forward manually to initiate the next operation of the machine the latch 82 swings loosely upon its pivot 84, the lower endy of the latch riding freely over the spring catch 88 and dropping to the position illustrated in Fig. 4. After the machine has operated upon the blank, and as the presser beam 24 moves backward, the lower end of the latch 82 engages the upper face of the spring catch 88, tripping the catch and releasing the ejector rod 72 which is then suddenly projected forward by the spring 76, instantly ejecting the blank from the heel` form and throwing it upon an inclined delivery chute 92 supported by a bracket ent is:

l. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel support, a presser movable into engagement with a heel upon said support, aV trimming blade movable past the breast of a heel upon the support, and means under the control of the presser for moving the trimming blade.

2. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel support, a presser movable into engagement with a heel upon the support, a shear member movable with said presser, and a shear blade movable past the breast end of the heelsupport into co-operative relation with said shear member.

3. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel support, a presser movable into engagement with a heel upon said support, a shear member carried by said presser, a shear blade movable into co-'operative relation to said member, and means under the control of the presser for Inoving the blade.

4. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel form, a heel presser movable into engagement with a heel in said form, a shear member carried by said presser and movable into engagement with the heel simultaneously therewith, and a shear blade movable past the breast end of the form into co-operative relation with said shear member.

5. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel-shaped form which is open at the `breast to permit the breast ends of a rand to project therefrom, a presser movable into the form to apply pressure to the rand, a shear member movable into engagement With the upper face of the rand to hold the ends of the rand against upward displacement, and a shear blade movable upward past the breast end of the form and Cooperating With said shear member torcut off the projecting ends of the rand.

6. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel-shapedform Vwhich is open at the breast to permit the breast ends of a rand to project therefrom, a stationary heel support arranged to sustain a heel base blank in the form, pressure means for holding the blank rigidly stationary in the erate with said blade when the latter is moved.

8. In a heel machine, thek combination of a heel support a shear member movable into a position over said support, a shear blade movable past the breast ofv a heel upon the support, and means vcomprisingl relatively slidable interengaging elements rigid Ywith said shear member and support, respectively, for positioning the shear member accurately over the support in cooperative relation to said blade when the latter is moved.

9. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel form, a presser movable to and from operative position relatively to the form to subject a heel blank to pressure, a heel ejector placed under spring tension by movement of the presser from operative position, and means for holding the ejector until pressure is applied to the heel blank and then freeing it to eject the heel when the pressure is removed.

lo. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel form and a presser, means for relatively moving them into and away from position to to exert pressure upon a heel blank in the form, an ejector placed under spring tension by relative movement of the presser and form away from a position to exert pressure, a catch for restraining movement of the ejector in response to the spring tension, and means for tripping the catch to release the ejector when the heel is subjected to pressure.

FRED ASHWORTH. 

